ARCHITECTS Phil O'Dwyer and Dave McCall took a chance when they bought the old Manchester Baths in Salford as a site for their new offices.

At the time, it was all they could afford. And even though they could see the potential of the Grade II-listed Victorian building, they had their doubts about the location just under the arches in the then-neglected Greengate area of the city.

But their bravery paid off. The pair, partners in OMI Architects, have just been given a coveted RIBA award for their sensitive and imaginative conversion of the baths into funky office space.

They are now working on a multi-million pound residential development just across the road, which will transform their neighbourhood.

Phil said: "We are chuffed to bits with the award. It is recognition from your peers that you have done something well, and it is a huge feather in Salford's cap because it is the only scheme in Greater Manchester to get a RIBA award this year.

"I think it proves yet again that good design can be the spur for further investments.

"When we bought here, it was a very run-down area of Salford, which for us made the place affordable, but also caused some people to think us mad - but it has paid off."

The old baths - sandwiched between the Tennis and Racquet Club and an old school in Blackfriars Road - closed down in the 1960s and had been used for warehousing, with the tiled pool filled with concrete and boarded over.

Smooth

More recently, it was used by a firm of solicitors before being bought by OMI, who remodelled the space and introduced contemporary features, such as the steel staircase and smooth white walls to contrast with the rough, red and yellow brick.

The building now houses the architecture practice, plus three more design-led companies.

The exterior of the building belies the modern space inside, but across the road a very obvious new building is set to change the look of Blackfriars completely.

OMI are the architects behind Dandara's big new Spectrum development, a mixed scheme of offices, plus apartments in four separate blocks, varying from three to 14 storeys high, ranged around central courtyard areas. Dandara is currently selling in block three.

Prices range from £96,000 for a 312sq ft studio apartment on the podium level, with several more studios less than £100,000, up to £187,500 for a 673sq ft two-bedroom property on the tenth floor.

Dandara wants a 10 per cent deposit on exchange, but this block is not due for completion until autumn 2007.

However, if you want somewhere to park your car, it will cost another £19,500 per space. Worth remembering here, though, is that because it is a regeneration area, there is no stamp duty to pay up to £150,000.

Dave said: "It is great that we are involved in a scheme that is right across the road. We can see this whole area being transformed in front of our eyes and it is great that we are a part of it."